For Christmas this year, I received a visa gift card. I wasn’t
sure what to spend it on but I knew that I needed some new cloths that would
fit me in the coming months. Most of my jeans are too tight but most of my
shirts still fit me pretty good because they all stretch. I have one pair of
jeans that fit perfect still. A few pairs I totally grew out of and a very few
that I can wear but I am using a hair tie to keep the button closed. I loop the
hair tie through the hole and tighten it then loop that one piece around the
button and whalah! Jeans that fit! That only gets you by for so long
though. I have used the bellybands
before. The “strap” of fabric that goes around your hips to keep your pants up
when they aren’t buttoned, or zipped sometimes, but I always got mad because
when I sat down, they would roll up. Therefore, I had to keep adjusting them.
Adjusting my pants, the band, my shirts…UGH! Not worth it!
In my quest for maternity clothes that were affordable, I
went to about a million websites. Now, either I’m cheap or frugal, but all of
the websites charged way more than I wanted to pay. However, there were a few
sites that had really good deals and I will list those:
www.zulily.com – I got a great pair of maternity pants for
$17 that fit PERFECT and when I tried them on, they didn’t even look like
maternity jeans. Very stylish and comfortable.
www.Target.com – There were a lot of overpriced things here,
however I scored a great maternity/nursing top on clearance for $7 and a
nursing bra that I did pay almost $25 for. This is a little steep if you ask me
but I knew a nursing bra would be and this one had a ton of great reviews.
www.burlingtoncoatfactory.com – Had the best deals. I could
have shopped till I dropped. Everything was super cheap and cute. I ended up
buying two pairs of maternity jeans, maternity yoga pants, and three maternity
shirts and paid about $100. The only thing that was somewhat weird was sizing.
The pants I got from Zulily were a size M, so I got a size M from Burlington,
but both pairs ended up being a bit baggy. I’ll have to return them and get a
small or I know I won’t be comfortable in them and thus, I won’t wear them.
I think that’s a lot of cloths for not very much money. I’m
happy, I just wish those two pairs of jeans fit but that’s an easy fix. I didn’t
end up getting any nursing tank tops. It was on my list of things I wanted. So,
like I do with everything else, I looked up reviews for the best nursing tanks
and the top three out there costs between $40 and $70. WOW!!! I’m used to going
to Kohl’s and getting a SO… brand tank top for under $5. I mean, I know it’s a bit
too early to worry about nursing cloths but I like to have all my p’s and q’s
in line way before baby arrives. I’m about 19 weeks along so, half way. By 30
weeks, I don’t want to have to buy a single thing. I want to have anything all
ready because you never know what could happen and I want to be prepared.
Anyway, I know some clever ways to nurse wearing (some kinds) of regular cloths
and I plan on buying one of those nursing covers you wear in public. This baby
will be born in the start of summer and if you know me, I wear a lot of cami’s
(tank tops) in the summer time. So, I have to have some that make it easy to
nurse in. This gave me the idea, “How hard can it possibly be to make one?” I
already have a million cami’s. Therefore, that’s what I set out to do tonight,
make one of my cheap Kohl’s brand (So…) cami’s into a nursing cami. And…I think
it may be a success. So, I decided to post what I did.
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The reason I chose the Kohl’s brand, SO… cami’s
is because they are very stretchy, comfortable and come in a million colors.
Top it off, they are super cheap!
#1 First thing I did was to lay my
cami flat out.
#2 Next, I cut the strap totally
off in the back.
#3 In front, I cut off all but
about 2-3 inches.
#4 I then looped that 2-3 inches
of strap behind the front of the cami and sewed it in place really good. Of course,
I did this on both sides.
#5 Then, I unhooked the nursing
bra and slid the loops I made, over the clasp. (The unhook part that comes down
when you breast feed) -i should have adjusted that green strap before i took the photo-
#6 Here is what the finished
product looks like and what it would look like if you were to take it off to
breast feed. Of course, I didn’t want to show my boob…but you get the picture.
In my experience, you don’t have
to buy a bunch of maternity clothes. A few staples? Yes! Jeans are a must, new
comfortable bra’s and undies a must. Most shirts however will stretch with you.
And if you still want something new, you can find some real deals at second
hand clothing stores (such as Playdoughs closet). It is fun to buy some new
shirts though, if they are reasonably priced. I personally love the maternity
shirts with side runching. Those always make the belly look super cute.
Anyway, I’m pretty good on
maternity clothes. Nursing tops are not something that is NEEDED either. I
think the basics that I like to have are nursing pajamas, which are especially
nice in the hospital. And a couple shirts in case you go out somewhere and want
to be extra discrete. Besides that, cloths when pregnant and after shouldn’t be
something to stress about. You don’t need a whole wardrobe. I’m even kind of
regretting buying what I bought because I know that in about 20 weeks, I won’t
fit into half the stuff I bought.
